So lucky! A lovely sunny day for our Madeleine harvest. The grapes were fantastic, perhaps the prettiest crop of Madeleine we’ve ever grown. Clean, golden and evenly ripe. Not a sign of disease and only minimal wasp damage. We had a big team of volunteers which made the picking comfortable and un-rushed. The tubs were loaded and we’d sat down to the harvest meal by 2pm. 25 of us.

Our daughter Liz and daughter-in-law Paula came to help so it was a bit of a family affair. Many old friends, including Alice all the way from London, most of them regulars, and a few new faces. Liz took most of the photos and Paula heroically worked on loading the trailer with Ginge, a heavy job, made a bit awkward by the tent we’d out up to keep the occasional rain showers off the loaded grapes.

Not a lot of wasps until the actual harvest day, when, Yikes! Killer Wasp Alert! We had to abandon one patch till later, near a nest where they’d got over-excited by the activity and were really aggressive. Alice and I picked that bit after the wasps, and the pickers, had gone home. I loved doing that - a peaceful sunset interlude after all the hecticness. My reward for a day in the kitchen!

The meal was Italian to go with the Chianti that Iain had already bought as the red wine. Pasta and chickpea soup, prosciutto and salami with romanesco in a  Sicilian dressing, peposo (peppery Tuscan beef stew) with polenta and black kale, florentine rice tart and cheese. And it was warm enough to eat outside under the  tasting tent.

Monday morning early, Iain took the trailer, nearly full - 70 tubs (it holds 72) - to the winery. On his own for the first time in years - I was off to London for a committee meeting of the UK Vineyards Association. The free-run juice was just as our sampling had predicted, sugar 70 Oechsle, acid 9 grammes per litre. (Satisfying, as the sampler, to get it spot on - forgive me while I just purr a little!). We wouldn’t have wanted the acid any lower, so, phew, we got the date right. All those ripening charts really did work.

Full set of photos, in our gallery here>>.

Many thanks to everyone who helped, including, as well as the intrepid pickers, Farmer John for the loan of his big trailer again, Liz for the photos, Jan for decorating and laying the table with flowers and fruits from her own garden and Ginge and Paula for that loading.

And now it’s time to plan the harvest for the Kernling. Sugars are shooting up and the grapes are already darker pink than they ever got last year (picture below right taken Sunday). It’s a small crop which is helping it ripen fast so we’re going for our earlier harvest option, 23rd October. Iain’s starting to contact pickers. As ever, it’s a nervous run up for these late-ripening grapes as the autumn gets cooler and possibly, though not yet, wetter. Botrytis and dilution are the risks if it turns wet, and  thieving blackbirds an ever-present worry as the grapes go pink and visible. So far we haven’t seen many pheasants  which are the other major hazard and as we haven’t got Milo to chase them now, we are grateful (thank you neighbours!).

So, in this unusually gentle, sunny autumn, its so far, so good. I’m going to whisper now because a lot could go wrong: It’s just possible we could be looking at a small but really exceptional Kernling crop... But don’t tell anyone!

Lots of vineyard visitors right up to the end of September but we’re now closed for tours and tastings until Easter 2017. Open for sales though. You’re always welcome to pitch up to the vineyard to buy wine - see where it comes from and get the best prices. We’re usually here but it’s a good idea to check first to make sure. 01278 671340. Directions and map on our Contact page.

We’ve nearly sold out of out Leonora’s 2013, it’s only available now in our mixed cases or in 3-packs. The Leonora’s 14‘s starting to come into its own though and there should be enough of best-selling Jane’s ‘14 to last through Christmas.

You can now buy our wines in smaller quantities online. Even though the courier costs proportionately more for three than for a case or six or twelve, our postal three-packs are flying off the proverbial shelves. Have a look at our Shop pages if you haven’t seen them recently - here’s a link to the one for the Jane’s>>. There’s a page to build your own mixed 3-pack. You can also buy cases of 12 for free Somerset delivery without the courier charge..